Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan believes Eddie Howe would only leave the club to manage England amid speculation linking him with the likes of Tottenham in recent weeks. The talk of the Toon head coach moving to North London is exactly that, with Howe's men thrashing Spurs 6-1 at St. James' Park last month.
It's easy to see why the Newcastle boss would be coveted by a number of top clubs, having taken the Magpies from relegation candidates to European contenders. The Toon look set to prove they're more than just contenders and could all but secure their place in the top-four with as little as four points from their remaining five games.
When Howe took the job, he was viewed by some as a stop gap or a transition manager as the club build steadily in order to compete for Premier League titles. His last season at Bournemouth, which resulted in relegation had somewhat tarnished his reputation having guided the Cherries from League Two to the Premier League, but the 45-year-old has proven he's the right man for Newcastle in the long-term.
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Jordan told talkSPORT: "He's right to be so because it's moving along isn't it? As long as he can continue to over deliver then he'll be fine because he is over delivering.
"He over delivered in his first season because he got them from where they were and we were all panicking, Martin [Keown] specifically in the January transfer window because they needed to buy players quickly otherwise they were going to find themselves in trouble. They kind of got to the back end of the month and then they did it.
"They came out of the season finishing 12th after a season everyone thought they'd getting relegated, this season they've punched way above what people perceived them to do and deservedly so because they've a very, very good side. I remember watching them really take it to Man City, really stick it on Man City and I thought 'hello, this is something interesting going on here.'
"But, I never anticipated I'd be sat here at the end of the season saying 'I have to give you £1,000 because they've not only finished in the top-six, they've finished in the top-four'. Now the next stage for them is the Champions League.
"They should approach the Champions League the way they've approached everything else. They don't play the competition, they play the teams in it.
"Do something in the group stages, do something and learn lessons from it. I think Eddie Howe will still be part of Newcastle's revolution and that's not me being disrespectful.
"It may be because he chooses to manage England, who knows?"
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